Cherries
by Goldfish-Con-Carne
Summary: Monk & Mai have begun making bets with each other to entertain themselves in their downtime. But when one of these bets goes too far, will Naru be pushed to his limits? Or will he be able to take it with his usual apathetic attitude? Rated T to be safe!


**AH! I can't believe I forgot a disclaimer!**

**If I owned Ghost Hunt I would be busy doing things with Naru and therefore would not be writing fan fiction. So there. **

"Bet you can't tie a cherry stem in a knot in your mouth."

"Can too!"

"Prove it."

Naru couldn't remember when Mai and Monk had started with the bets, but they had been going on for a while now. The bets had never been anything to concern himself with, they were simply mild annoyances. However, now that their game had escalated past 'bet I can hold my breath longer', he was annoyed. No longer were the bets simply a near-silent way for them to pass the time in the van or something they did in the few moments of down time they found during cases, they had begun playing their stupid game at the office That was the last straw. Outside his office, Naru heard the sound of plastic bag and the words "Do you always carry around a bag of cherries?"

"'Course! It's how I screen potential mates." Mai, Monk, and Ayako laughed. Loudly. Naru threw down his pen with a sigh, leaving his office to get rid of the rowdy group that seemed determined not to get any work done that day. He opened the door to find Monk handing Mai a cherry, stem and all. He froze, watching her from where he stood in the doorway of his office. Something in his stomach lurched forward as he watched her pull the stem off the cherry and pop the small, red fruit into her mouth. She rolled it around her mouth with her tongue before biting down. The juice ran over her lips, staining them dark red. She pulled the pit out from between her lips, dropping it into the wastebasket beside her desk.

"Here goes!" She smiled as she put the cherry stem on her tongue, pulling it into her mouth.

_If she actually ties that thing in a knot, I'm going to have a problem. _No sooner had Naru finished the thought than Mai presented Monk with the stem that she had successfully tied in a very nicely formed knot. Naru's entire body stiffened – and I do mean his entire body – and he groaned inwardly. Out loud, he cleared is throat. All 3 offenders turned to look at him. Mai's face turned bright red, matching the cherry juice that still clung to her lips.

"Must I remind you all, yet again, that this is not a coffee shop?" He was forced to say this at least once a day, often times twice, and on birthdays/holidays/and any other "special occasion, three or four times.

"Yeah, we got it." Monk stood, passing the knotted stem and the bag of cherries to Mai. "Here, I don't actually like cherries," he admitted, leaving the office with Ayako following close behind.

"Mai," Mai turned back to him from the stack of papers she had begun to sort through, expecting him to yell at her or insult her intelligence. Instead he began to turn away, saying the word "tea" as he reentered his office. He could hear Mai push her desk chair back and stand up. Her footsteps led past his door, down the hall to the kitchen. He could hear the muffled sounds of cabinet doors opening and closing and water filling the tea kettle. He didn't really want tea. Well, yes, he always wanted tea, but right now, what he desired more, was a moment to recover from what had just happened. _She managed to tie a cherry stem in a knot, what's the big deal about that?_ The same lurch he had felt earlier in his stomach answered his question. The scene replayed in his mind and he was shocked to find a smile on his face by the time he had reached the end of the replay. He considered rewinding the image again, from when she first put the cherry in her mouth to the moment she had plucked the stem off her outstretched tongue, a look of triumph gracing her features.

In the kitchen, Mai watched the fire under the kettle, popping another cherry into her mouth as the water began to bubble lazily. Monk had, inadvertently, found her greatest weakness. Cherries. They were her all time favorite food, even better than that one time she had agreed to go to some gourmet restaurant with an ex-boyfriend. She ate another one as she poured the hot water over the tea she had already poured into Naru's favorite cup. Personally, she wasn't sure what was so special about it, it was just white porcelain with a red rim. While she was at it she poured tea into Lin's cup as well, placing both on a tray for ease of carrying. She popped yet another cherry in her mouth as she left the kitchen, smiling at the taste.

She knocked on Lin's door, waiting for a quiet "enter" before turning the knob.

"Tea?"

"Thank you Taniyama-san." Lin didn't look away from the screen of his computer as she set the tea down beside her. At first, Mai had taken that personally, like she was nothing but an annoyance who happened to bring him tea. After she had gotten to know the man, however, she had realized that it was only Naru who believed that.

She left Lin's office, crossing the hall and knocking on Naru's door. "Come in," his voice sounded strained, and Mai's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Tea." She announced as she opened the door, carrying the tray to his desk and setting down his cup. For once, Naru looked up from the notebook he had been staring at, his blue eyes scrutinizing her brown ones. Mai froze in response. He let his eyes slide from her eyes to her nose, the dimple on her right chin, and the lips spread in a hesitant smile. _She's been eating more cherries,_ he observed, noticing the darkened stain on her lips. He stopped himself before he let his eyes slip any further down her body, refusing to check his assistant out while she was well aware of his actions and his door was wide open.

_'Course, Lin's the only other one in the office, and his door is closed..._ Naru let the though drift off in his mind, for once not scolding himself for allowing his thoughts to take that turn.

"Um, Naru, are you okay?" Mai's voice jumped him, though it didn't show on his face.

"O-of course I'm okay."

_Did he just stutter?_

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." His voice was decisive, his nod curt.

"Um, well, did you need anything else?"

"What? No. No I didn't." Naru picked up a pile of papers that lay in front of him, banging them against the top of his desk to straighten them.

"Um, all right then..." She took a hesitant step backwards, then, when he didn't stop her, turned and fled the room, a blush breaking out across her cheeks.

_Was he staring at me just then? _Mai asked herself as she rolled a cherry between her fingers. She brought it to her lips, but didn't open her mouth to receive it as a sudden though crossed her mind, _is it, I mean, could it be... the cherries?_ She looked down at the cherry in her hand, a small smile playing across her lips.

The door to Naru's office opened slowly, and Naru appeared, a notebook in one hand and his tea cup in the other. Mai almost choked on the cherry she had just placed on her tongue. She hadn't realized it had gotten so late, and there was a client due for an appointment in only a few minutes. She had to make this quick. As she pulled another cherry out of the bag on her desk, she searched her mind for something that would make him look over at her, a devilish plan forming in her mind.

"Hey, Naru?"

"What?"

"Do you think that we'll end up with another case from this appointment?"

He raised his eyes from his book to look at her, which was exactly what she was hoping he would do. She slowly pulled the stem out of the little red ball, pushing the cherry in to her mouth through her pursed lips.

"I-I don't know, I've only read over what the client told us on the phone. I'll know after I talk to them in person." There was the same tone in his voice as always, the one that asked her why she would ask such a stupid question. Mai ignored his tone, rather than glare the way she normally would have.

"Well, what are your thoughts on what they told us on the phone then? I mean, how likely is it?" She began twirling the stem in her fingers, wondering if she should go all the way and pop that in her mouth to, show off one more time. It was an almost irresistible idea.

"If what they said on the phone is the truth then yes, we'll probably end up with a case." Naru still hadn't looked away from her mouth. Mai smirked, _eh, what the hell?_ She popped the stem in her mouth, manipulating it with her tongue until she felt the familiar lump in the once straight stem.

"Good, things around here were getting boring." she took the stem out of her mouth as she spoke, making a show of inspecting the knot. She was so intent on keeping her face straight that she didn't notice Naru stand and move across the room until he cleared his throat next to her ear. She turned to meet his blue eyes with her brown ones. The closeness of his face took her breath away, he had bent so that his face was level with hers, one hand braced on her desk for balance.

"Do you have to do that?"

"Do what?" She finally managed to ask, deciding to play dumb.

"That." He motioned to the stem between her fingers with a flick of his eyes.

"Um, why, does it bother you?" Mai couldn't help but continue, the opportunity was too good, and how often did she get to tease her narcissistic boss? "I mean, I just want to practice." It was hard to keep her face straight as she said the word 'practice'.

"Practice?" Naru asked through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, I mean, how long is it before Monk comes back here betting that I can't tie it in two knots?"

"Yeah, good point." Naru hadn't unclenched his teeth.

_All right, just a little bit further Mai._ "I think I almost got it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, here, let me show you." She pulled another cherry out of the bag on her right, using the opportunity to better compose her face. She must have been channeling Naru with how well she was keeping a stoic expression.

She yanked the stem out of the cherry, holding out the small fruit to him. "Cherry?"

He took the cherry from her, but didn't put it in his mouth. He didn't want her to see that his hands were shaking.

As for Mai, she pushed the cherry stem into her mouth, using her tongue and her teeth to manipulate it slowly, praying it wouldn't break. She had chosen one of the stems that looked longer and more supple than the others around it. Slowly but surely the first knot formed, followed closely by the second. She reached her fingertips to her mouth, using her tongue to push the knotted stem into them.

"Success! See, I told you I was close!" She smiled wider, triumph blazing in her eyes. "Um, Naru?"

_She just... I mean... How did she... _His eyes refused to leave the stem she held in her fingers, and his body refused to move, even when he heard the bells on the door jingle.

"Um, Naru?" as she spoke he caught a glimpse of the red juice on her tongue and lips.

_Oh no, he's having a mental breakdown! Not quite what I was hoping for..._ Slowly he turned his face to hers. His stomach was tied in knots matching those in the cherry stem she still held.

_That's it, I can't do this anymore._ Mai opened her mouth once more to ask about his well being, but her words were cut off by his lips crushing hers. Mai's eyes widened, before slowly sliding closed.

_Well, that's not exactly what I had expected either..._ She gasped as he tangled his free hand in her hair, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. Her lips parted and he slid his tongue past them, smirking at the taste of cherries that still coated her mouth. She moaned, the noise muffled against his lips. He chuckled, pulling her out of her seat to press her against him. Mai clung to him, unsure that her legs would otherwise hold her up. He dropped the cherry he still held in his left hand on to her desk, wrapping his arm around her back to pull her even closer to him. He ran the tip of his tongue across the roof of her mouth, an uncharacteristic smile forming on his face when she shivered in response.

He pulled away, moving his lips from her mouth to her jawbone, her ear, and finally her neck. She panted against him, her face buried in his shoulder as he kissed her, the smile on his face not budging even an inch. As soon as she was breathing normally – well, close to normally anyway – he captured her lips with his again, leaving his thumb to trace her jaw bone. She pulled away from him long enough to whisper his name before finding his lips again. She reached her arms around him, pulling him as tight against her as she could. Still, she wanted to be closer.

Every argument they had ever had was forgotten, every time he called her an idiot, every time she had called him a narcissistic jerk, every time he had glared at her, all of it was forgiven in that one kiss.

They both heard Lin's office door open, but neither reacted, they also heard him speaking, but chose to ignore him other than Naru shifting his position so that his back was to Lin, trying to make him take the hint and go back to his computer. As oblivious as they seemed, they both heard the female voice that replied to Lin's voice.

Mai broke apart from him first, though doing so nearly caused her physical pain. Naru's reluctance was obvious as he turned to Lin and the blushing woman that stood next to him. Beside him, Mai began giggling, the sound filling the otherwise silent room. Across the room, Lin's smile rivaled that of both Mai and Naru.

"Um... I... I'm here for a... an appointment?" The woman's tone made the statement a question, a blush creeping across her cheeks and her eyes fixed on some point over Naru's shoulder.

Naru debated whether he should see the woman now, or tell her to come back in an hour. He looked back to Mai. A blush had started on her own cheeks and even the tips of her ears. Her hair was a mess from where he had been clutching at it and her breath still came in gasps. Naru debated whether he should see the woman now, or tell her to come back in a couple of hours.

Mai made his decision for him.

"I'll make tea!" She slipped out of the arm he had dropped from her back to her waist, heading for the kitchen at her normal speed, even though she would have preferred to skip. He watched her go, frozen in place until she had disappeared around the corner.

"I- I apologize, I had completely forgotten, here, we- um, we can talk right here." He led her to the couch, forcing his face into a more business-like expression and sitting across from her. "So, what is it that makes you think your house is haunted?"

"Well..." The woman launched into a lengthy story about the activity she had experienced at the house. Shortly after she began, Mai reentered the room bearing a tray with four tea cups on it, her hair smoothed down and her breathing normal. She set one down in front of the woman speaking, one in front of Lin, and one in front of Naru. Taking her cup with her, she sat behind her desk, attempting to look busy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naru watched as she took another cherry from the bag next to her elbow and popped it into her mouth, peeking at him through the hair that had fallen into her face as she did so.

A smile formed on his face for the third time in one day. It was a new record for him.


End file.
